Screen Time Surge! (Final Blog Post)

Screen Time Surge

Technology has had an extreme impact on society. Within my lifetime (19 years), I have seen technology transform society. Notable technological advancements in my lifetime include AI, self-driving cars, and facial recognition, just to name a few. Technology is transforming society and shaping the future in ways that could never been imagined. With that, there are both benefits and disadvantages. 

Technology affects the lives of people and impacts the way they learn, think, and communicate. We utilize and depend on technology in our daily lives. With that, technology has advanced many aspects of our lives. It has allowed us to make many advancements. Information is easy to access which advances the realms of education and human knowledge and skills. In an article published by LinkedIn in March 2023, the benefits of technology are explored. The three major benefits highlighted in the article are as follows: improved communication, access to information, and medical advancements (KeyTech, 2023).

In an interesting report published by Geeks for Geeks it states, "An average person spends approximately 8.6 hours daily on technological usage. People in today’s society find it difficult to carry out their daily activities without using technological devices" (Impact of technology on Society 2023). Technology consumes people's lives, and the usage of technology is increasing every year. To put it in perspective ten years ago in 2013 the average screen time was 5.85 hours per day (Shewale, 2023). 

Personally, in my experience with technology, I have noticed significant behavioral changes with my increased use of technology. My average screen time this past week was just under nine hours. This does include the use of my laptop, but I spent an average of 9 hours daily using technology. I have noticed that since I started using TikTok in 2020 my attention span has decreased drastically. 

In fact, an article published by The Oxford Blue highlights the correlation between TikTok use and attention spans. This article introduced a new term, "Tik Tok Brain" defined as the effect that short-term media has on attention spans. I have a hard time sitting through movies and even T.V. show episodes, I find myself on TikTok for the quick fix. In the Oxford Blue article, the writer compares the use of short media to an addiction stating, "A  recent study focusing on young adults who use the Chinese equivalent of TikTok – Douyin – found mild to significant “addiction-like symptoms” in more than half of the participants" (Zaveri, 2023). 

Additionally, because of the growing access to technology, children are also spending an increasing amount of time using technology. A popular term, iPad Kid, which has surfaced in the past year, refers to children who are dependent on their technological devices to suffice themselves.

 In my personal experience, I have noticed parents' tendency to give their kids technology to entertain them so they do not have to deal with them. These alarming survey results in an article published on Elite Content Maker put the effect technology has in perspective on the news generation by saying, "According to a survey of 888 K-12 educators, 80% reported that increased children’s screen time worsens their behavior." (bySrishti et al., 2023). 

Ryan Lowe, a child and adolescent psychotherapist and spokesperson for the Association of Child Psychiatrists states,"

The issue with screens is not that they are terrible in themselves, but that they are being used as babysitters, and to shut children up. This means they’re not playing or engaging with the world around them, or being included in conversations. Really importantly, it means they’re not learning the basic skills of patience and containing themselves long enough to manage something difficult or frustrating. This can disadvantage kids because if a device is put in front of a child the minute they start to fret or find things difficult, then that’s the only way they learn to cope with difficult feelings” (IPad kids are getting out of hand 2023). 

In conclusion, technology is beneficial for society in increments. There is a line between the beneficial use of technology and the harmful use of technology. As individuals, it is important to realize that and set limits in terms of the personal use of technology. 

Sources:

KeyTech. (2023, March 27). The impact of technology on society: Positive and negative effects. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-technology-society-positive-negative-effects-keytech-fi/                 Link

Shewale, R. (2023, October 30). 34 average screen time statistics (2023 data). demandsage. 

https://www.demandsage.com/screen-time-statistics/ GeeksforGeeks. (2023, December 5). Impact of technology on Society. GeeksforGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/impact-of-technology-on-society/ 

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Zaveri, J. (2023, May 23). Tiktok and the death of the attention span . The Oxford Blue. https://theoxfordblue.co.uk/tiktok-and-the-death-of-the-attention-span/# 

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bySrishti, W., by, W., Srishti,  (2023, October 20). Average screen time statistics for 2023. Elite Content Marketer. https://elitecontentmarketer.com/screen-time-statistics/ 

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IPad kids are getting out of hand. VICE. (2023, November 21). https://www.vice.com/en/article/93k8kv/ipad-kids-gen-alpha-childhood-development 

            Link